engleski

Unravelling patterns of genomic variation of Dianthus sylvestris Wulfen s.l. in the Balkan Peninsula

Contemporary patterns of genomic variation in plant species often reflect past demographic processes linked to climate events such as Pleistocene glaciations. Dianthus sylvestris s.l. comprises a number of taxa distributed across southern and south- eastern Europe. We here used RAD-seq SNP data to unravel genomic variation in 165 populations, including all six currently described subspecies occurring in the Balkan Peninsula. Population genetic structure using Bayesian clustering revealed a north- western (NW) and south-eastern (SE) group, while an alternative model-free approach identified five genetic groups. We detected significant isolation by distance (IBD) within our populations, though with a visible discontinuity, and additional genetic connectivity analyses confirmed a sharp break between the two main groups of populations from NW and SE, suggesting that these groups derive from separate evolutionary lineages. Migration analyses revealed highest rates of gene flow between two subgroups of the NW cluster, while lower rates of gene flow were inferred between three subgroups of the SE cluster. The SE group showed higher inbreeding values compared to the NW group. Species distribution modelling (SDM) pointed to suitable habitats during the last glacial maximum (LGM) along the whole eastern Adriatic coast with higher suitability predicted in the south of the Balkans compared to the north. Overall, patterns of genomic variation and SDM suggest that D. sylvestris in the Balkans survived the Pleistocene glaciations in two separate glacial refugia located along the eastern Adriatic coast, with secondary contact of the two lineages in the area of Montenegro where admixed populations occur.

Balkan Peninsula, genetic structure, gene flow, phylogeography, habitat suitability

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